Omaha Considering Pedicab Ban During College World Series

We were feeling all warm and fuzzy inside about Omaha this morning when we saw this nice video about the community’s attempts to reduce obesity, including providing transportation alternatives.

Omaha is considering a ban on pedicabs during the College World Series so cars can move faster. Photo: ##http://www.utilitycycling.org/2010/07/pedicabs-hop-on-in/## Utility Cycling##

And then we heard Omaha is considering banning pedicabs during the College World Series this summer. Now we’re confused: Is Omaha trying to encourage active forms of transportation or outlaw them?

Due to concerns about traffic and “safety,” the Omaha City Council is reviewing legislation that would forbid any “carriages” drawn “by horses, foot or humans” during the College World Series, an event that draws some 30,000 to the city every summer.

Chief of Police Todd Schmaderer told a local television station: “It’s estimated that [pedicabs] can carry up to 400 passengers in a day; we need our traffic lanes to accommodate tens of thousands.”

Meanwhile, one of the city’s new pedicab companies says losing the business from the big 10-day event will really hurt.

Local blog Mode Shift Omaha says the city’s proposed ban doesn’t make a lot of sense from a safety perspective or a financial perspective:

First, the OPD has not produced any evidence to show that these non-gas powered vehicles have caused any safety issues as is claimed in the ordinance (how many accidents took place or tickets given?). Given the amount of pedestrian traffic in and around the stadium, if they do serve to slow down automobile traffic as the ordinance claims, might this actually be safer for pedestrians and bicyclists in the area? Is it fair to ban one form of transportation but not others? Don’t motorized vehicles also present a safety concern? If congestion is the problem, perhaps all vehicles should be prohibited from operating near the stadium?

Second, the ordinance discourages the entrepreneurs who create jobs and meet a demand created by thousands of visitors moving around the city during the CWS. They provide fun, efficient transportation options for CWS attendees. Why, in these tough economic times, would the city want to quash an emerging market? These non-motorized forms of transportation add jobs and contribute to festive atmosphere surrounding the CWS.

Omaha, we are reserving judgement about you. We have faith that you are going to reject this silly ordinance January 10, when it is back before City Council.

After all, what makes a city look more vibrant to the out-of-town visitor than pedicabs?

Keep the faith about Omaha. Pedicab/carriage owners and cycling/transportation advocates mobilized quickly and testified against the ban at the recent city council meeting. The testimony was received very positively by the council, and we are currently working to develop an alternative. This ban is not gonna fly.

john harshbarger

I live in Omaha and fear this could become an all out ban on non-motorized transit. I rely on my bicycle 100% of the time to get around. Sad with all the effort recently to get bike lanes installed that this would come about.

Amazing write-up! This could aid plenty of people find out more about this particular issue. Are you keen to integrate video clips coupled with these? It would absolutely help out. Your conclusion was spot on and thanks to you; I probably won’t have to describe everything to my pals. I can simply direct them here!

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Despite rainy weather, about 300 people gathered this Saturday in Omaha to protest the city’s plans to eliminate its “bike czar” position. Carlos Morales, the city’s bike/ped planner, had been recruited from Los Angeles for the job, which paid $80,000 per year. But the new budget proposed by Mayor Jean Stothert eliminates the position, which […]

There are plenty of reasons why Omaha, Nebraska, isn’t known for being a walkable, people-friendly city. It has one of the lowest bike commuting rates in the country. In a vote last year, Streetsblog readers crowned a location in Omaha as America’s worst intersection. But there are some signs that the city is moving in the […]

NY1 is reporting that the City Council has voted to override Mayor Bloomberg’s veto of its pedicab bill. The pedicab bill caps the number of cabs at 325 and also adds new safety and insurance requirements. The mayor vetoed the bill after meeting with pedicab drivers who were concerned about losing their jobs.

Speaking on his weekly radio show on WABC, Mayor Mike Bloomberg announced he would veto the City Council’s legislation capping the number of pedicabs in the city at 325: However, the mayor also said he may be amenable to a revised version that simply raised the cap on the vehicles, known as pedicabs. He suggested […]

Anticipating a vote in the City Council this afternoon to override the mayor’s veto of Intro 331-A, a bill to regulate pedicabs, a group of pedicab operators was demonstrating outside the American Museum of Natural History after Bloomberg’s big Earth Day speech. Handing out leaflets with the numbers of swing councilmembers like Daniel Garodnick, the […]

These days, almost every mid-sized city has an entertainment district. Depending on your nature, these are the places you either flock to on Friday and Saturday nights or assiduously avoid. These are also often the best places to get a gyro at 2 a.m. But as ubiquitous as entertainment districts have become, Nathaniel M. Hood […]